ABSTRACT

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) high in fats, sugar and salt (HFSS) are industrially formulated food products manufactured largely by the Big Food companies. Ultra-processed foods are formulated and packaged in such a way to make them intensely palatable, have a long shelf stability and eliminate the need for culinary preparations. Examples of UPFs are carbonated and other sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) such as potato chips, cookies, biscuits, sweets, nuggets, instant noodles, energy drinks, frozen desserts, ice-cream, infant formula, sweetened breakfast cereals and fruit drinks. The consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and sugar-sweetened beverages is increasing rapidly, replacing use of traditional or indigenous, culturally acceptable freshly cooked food. The potential cause of the pandemic of overweight, obesity and  rapid rise of related chronic diseases such as stroke, high blood pressure and coronary heart diseases especially in under developed countries is the corresponding increase in the production, processing and consumption of readily available ‘fast’ or ‘convenience’ ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat processed food and beverage products. The consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks, and dietary pattern of adults  was found out to be one of the causes of overweight and obesity in adults  which in turn affects the BMI  giving rise to the development of non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia and cancer  among higher consumers of ultra-processed foods. This study was designed to assess the consumption of ultra-processed foods, dietary pattern and anthropometric status of adults aged (20-49 years) in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia State. The study is a cross sectional survey. A total of 440 adults were randomly selected for this study. A well structured and validated questionnaire was used to collect information on the socio-economic and demographic characteristics, the consumption of ultra-processed foods, the dietary pattern and the anthropometric status of the respondents. The questionnaire was coded and entered into computer using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. More than half of the respondents studied were (67.0%) males and (33.0%) females. Majority of the adults studied were between the age of 26 and 32 years (62.3%). The study showed that men more commonly consumed ultra-processed foods compared to women. About more than half of the respondents (53.0%) who had overweight consumed soft drinks daily. About more than half of the respondents (60.7%) whose body mass index were normal consumed cake. Chi-square analysis was used to assess the relationship between the consumption of processed and ultra-processed food, dietary pattern and the anthropometric status of the respondents. The chi-square analysis showed that there was a significant association between consumption of cake and BMI of the respondents (p=0.000). This implies that consumption of cake have an effect on the body mass index of the respondents. The study indicated that men mostly consume ultra-processed foods than women. This study showed that there was high rate of obesity amongst male adults than female adults which implies that there was a significant relationship between obesity, dietary patterns and consumption of ultra-processed foods and drinks. The problem was found to be more prevalent among males than females. Nutrition education should focus on enlightening the community on the need of consuming hand-made dishes made from fresh indigenous foods as well as encourage and support healthy food preparation. Statutory regulatory bodies need to regulate unhealthy products such as the food additives, colour and preservatives used in producing ultra-processed products which has been found to be problematic.